Domaine de Longdai
Price: RMB 2388 (USD 370)
Region: Shandong
After enjoying vast success in China by exporting its grand vin Château Lafite Rothschild to more accessible Légende and Saga, the Bordeaux first growth Lafite finally launched its first Chinese wine Long Dai in Shandong Penglai in 2019, marking its leading position in the China premium wine market.
To pander to Chinese customers’ hearts, Lafite formed a mostly Chinese team and added Chinese favourite grape – Marselan – into the inaugural vintage 2017. The 2017 vintage is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Marselan and Cabernet Franc. Marselan is a cross between Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache and is considered as the signature grape of China in the future.
After 11 years of preparation and testing over 400 soil pits from 2009 to 2011, the vines were eventually planted on 30 hectares of terraces with granite soils in the foothills of the Qiu Shan Valley.
After reaching full maturity, the grapes are harvested by hand. The wine then spent 18 months in oak barrels before bottling.
With the relatively modest size of the vineyard, only around 2,500 cases are produced annually. Compared with 2017 Chateau Lafite Rothschild averagely priced at HKD 6,423 (USD 825), the Long Dai 2017 is priced at RMB 2,388 (USD 370) for its debut.
Scroll through the pages to find out which wine has set a record for most expensive Chinese wine.
Silver Heights Emma’s Reserve 1.5L
Price: RMB 3,800 (USD 589)
Region: Ningxia
Emma’s Reserve is the private collection of winemaker Emma Gao, with only 2,000 bottles produced annually. This limited edition wine represents the top quality wine from Silver Heights in Ningxia and possibly China.
The wine is made of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon and 50% Merlot, which are grown organically and hand picked for harvest. It has been aged in French new oak barrels for 24 months before bottling.
Silver Heights is a family-run vineyard established by Gao Lin in 1999, then passed on to his daughter Gao Yuan (also known as Emma) who received her enology training at the Ecole d’Oenologie in Bordeaux. The relatively small-scale vineyard lies between the western part of Helan Mountain and the eastern part of Yellow River, with an altitude of from 1,100 to 1,300 meters above sea level.
Even without glossy packaging, an all-star team or enormous financial backing, the 2009 of Emma’s Reserve is rated 17 points out of 20 by wine writer and critic Jancis Robinson, till this day the highest rated Chinese wine by the critic.
Thanks to Ningxia’s low rainfall (less than 200 ml per year) and dry continental climate, many wineries today are converting to organic farming, and Silver Heights is going a step further by practicing biodynamic viticulture starting from 2017.
Hoping to preserve the ecological balance of the virgin land in Helen Mountain, Emma has adopted biodynamic farming in the vineyard including practices such as spraying herbal tea on vines to retain acidity and using compost to improve soil health.
Grace Vineyard Chairman’s Reserve (Magnum)
Price: RMB 1,500 (USD 233)
Region: Shanxi
‘Grace Vineyard Chairman’s Reserve’ is the most iconic wine representing the founder Chun-Keung Chan’s dedication in producing a top quality wine in China. His family-run Grace Vineyard located in Shanxi is considered one of the earliest and more established wineries in China.
The full-bodied red wine is made with 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot and 17% Cabernet Franc. With a medium weight palate of sweet cinnamon, cloves and soft gentle tannins, the wine is easy to approach at its youth.
The wine has also been praised by wine critics Jancis Robinson, James Halliday and the Wine Spectator and Decanter. Wine Advocate has given out more than 90 marks for several vintages of the red.
Back in 1997, Chan first established the vineyard in Taigu, Shanxi in Central China with the assistance of the Bordeaux oenologist Denis Boubals and French partner Sylvain Janvier. After being passed to his daughter Judy Chan in 2002, the vineyard has secured its leading position in the industry by expanding into Japan, Singapore, Great Britain, Belgium and Netherlands.
Ao Yun
Price: RMB 2,130 (USD 330)
Region: Yunnan
The luxury group LVMH first launched their high-altitude Chinese wine, Ao Yun, in 2013, one of the 23 brands it owns beside Moët & Chandon, Krug and Veuve Clicquot. The first Ao Yun vintage is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, produced in the foothills of the Himalayas near Shangri-La.
The name Ao Yun means “floating cloud” in Chinese, suggesting its high vineyard site. Located in northern Yunnan province bordering Laos and Myanmar, the vineyard has an altitude over 2,000 meters above sea level.
This means besides its extreme climatic conditions, the costs of producing wine is also high. With little electricity, water and gas, the wine cannot be made with modern machinery and needs to be produced by local authentic farming techniques. The harvest and winemaking were done entirely by hand, thus the manpower cost is highest among all the LVMH wine brands, said Jean-Guillaume Prats, the former head of LVMH Wine, in an interview.
As the first Chinese wine traded on Liv-ex in 2016, the wine received vast attention for its debut and set a record being sold at around GBP 225 (USD 306) a bottle.
Rongzi Elegant Yellow Cabernet Sauvignon
Price: RMB 3,226 (USD 500)
Region: Shanxi
Chateau Rongzi was established in 2007 with a total investment of more than RMB 1 billion (USD). The chateau’s name Rongzi comes from a folk story in Xiangning about the mother of Duke Wen of Jin, a Spring and Autumn period hegemon, discovered wine-making 2,700 years ago.
The winery’s vineyard is located on the Loess Plateau with an average altitude of 1,100 meters and its consulting winemaker is none other than the former chief winemaker of Petrus Jean-Claude Berrouet.
Its top wine is called Rongzi Elegant Yellow Cabernet Sauvingon, which retails for over RMB 3,000 a bottle. Commended by Decanter World Wine Awards in 2018, Chateau Rongzi Elegant Yellow 2010 was made in Shanxi with 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. As Decanter described, the wine comes with liquorice and pastille aromas and the palate shows red fruit and notes of soy.
The Elegant Yellow Cabernet Sauvignon comes from ‘Rongzi series’ which features another Deep Brown Label wine with a lower price of RMB 868 (USD 135).
Besides Cabernet Sauvignon, Rongzi also cultivates Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Chardonnay and other international varieties.
Chateau Mogao Golden Knight SCJQ1099
Price: RMB 11,800 (USD 1,830)
Region: Gansu
Backed by Gansu Mogao Industrial Development, Mogao winery has produced wine in Wuwei, Gansu in northwestern China since 1983 and now has the largest vineyard size of 1,300 hectares in Gansu.
Different from most Chinese wineries that focus on Bordeaux varietals, the Gansu winery turned to Pinot family. Its Golden Knight SCJQ1099 is made with Pinot Noir, but this wine will make Burgundy grand cru looks cheap.
It retails for a whopping price of RMB 11,800 (USD 1,830), the equivalent of three bottles of Burgundy’s grand cru monopole ‘Clos de Tart’.
Information on the wine otherwise is scarce on its website.
Bodega Langes 10th anniversary edition 1.5 L
Price: RMB 16,800 (USD 2,606)
Region: Hebei
Bodega Langes 10th anniversary edition (1.5L) is a costly and sparkly wine.
The 10th anniversary edition, made from 100% Syrah comes with a label decorated with Swarovski crystals since both are owned by the Austrian crystal maker Swarovski.
With a USD 36 million investment from the Swarovski family, the winery Bodega Langes was established in 1999 in China when domestic wine production was still in its early stage. The family chose Changli, Hebei as the production base, which is known as the “Hometown of Chinese Wine and Grapes”.
The 2800-acres vineyard has plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. The winery then spent USD 3 million in advanced wine production equipment from France, Germany and Italy.
The winery also says it uses organic farming methods, limiting use of herbicides and fungicides.
In 2018, the Swarovski family sold its ownership to Hongxing Steel Company for RMB 280 million (USD 44 million).
The family still owns Bodega Norton in Argentina.
Chateau SunGod GreatWall 2008 Reserve Limited Release
Price: RMB 28,000 (USD 4,343)
Region: Hebei
The wine is produced by Chateau SunGod GreatWall, owned by COFCO, a state-owned company and China’s largest food processing holding company.
Established in 1979, the chateau was recognized as a national level wine research base by the state and the birthplace of China’s first dry wine.
The 2008 edition was born out of a seven year production and was made with Cabernet Sauvignon grown from 30-year-old vines. Then it was aged in new French oak bottles for 22 months before bottling.
The wine bottle was handcrafted by 100-year-old renowned Italian design company VENNI which recently teamed up with Versace for a 100th-anniversary glass vase capsule collection. Produced with three layers of crystal and a hundred steps of procedure, the bottle is shaped with inspiration from the iconic Beijing National Stadium, Bird’s Nest.
The final price then came to a staggering RMB 28,000 (USD 4,343) a bottle.
The wine is specially made for 2008 Beijing Olympics, and only 2,008 bottles were produced and gifted to VIP guests at the games. It is now a permanent collection of the Chinese Olympic Committee, according to the winery.
Changyu AFIP No. 1
Price: RMB 29,800 (USD 4,623)
Region: Beijing
The most expensive Chinese wine on our list is produced by China’s oldest winery Changyu. Located in Beijing, Changyu AFIP was created in 2007 after receiving RMB 700 million (USD 108 million) investment from foreign capital and its mother company Changyu Pioneer Wine.
Reputed as a national 4A-level tourist attraction, the winery occupies a total area of more than 1,500 acres, including 400 acres of construction area and more than 1,100 acres of vineyards.
Changyu AFIP No. 1 priced itself at RMB 29,800 a bottle, which is the equivalent of close to a 6-bottle case of Chateau Lafite Rothschild. Only 5,000 bottles are produced and each is engraved with a 18k gold-plated number 1 set with 28 Swarovski gems.
In 2010, the wine was auctioned off at a wine festival for RMB 50,000 (US$7753), which set a record as the single most expensive Chinese wine ever sold, according to state media China News.